If you want to learn more about the superfood oats , you will inevitably come across the question of whether oats contain gluten or not. Opinions also differ on this question, and there are various articles online. Especially for people who suffer from gluten intolerance, also called celiac disease, it is important to know which cereal products contain gluten and which do not.
We have already dealt intensively with the grain oats and would now like to clarify the following questions: Is oats gluten-free or not ? Can oats be safely consumed if they are intolerant to gluten? How is gluten-free oats made ?
Do you already know the
gluten-free breakfast products
from Verival?
Is oats gluten-free – yes or no?
Oats are naturally low in gluten. However, conventional oats are grown in fields where gluten-containing cereals are also grown. In addition, a combine harvester is used in the harvesting of the oats, which is also used in the harvesting of gluten-containing grains.
Even during transport, storage, and further processing in production, the oats come into contact with gluten if they are not thoroughly cleaned beforehand. This contamination of the oats with gluten-containing cereals means that
oats are not automatically gluten-free
unless they undergo a rigorous process of planting, harvesting, and processing. You can learn more about how gluten-free oats are made later in this post.
Can I eat oats if I have celiac disease?
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease in which the consumption of gluten protein leads to hypersensitivity, resulting in inflammation of the small intestinal mucosa. People who are intolerant to gluten should therefore eat as little gluten as possible – or even gluten-free . Consequently, if you suffer from gluten intolerance/celiac disease , you should not eat conventional gluten-containing oats.
Fortunately, there is now a large selection
of
gluten-free oatmeal and oat products
,
which are also labeled as gluten-free and are
produced according to strict guidelines
.
So if you suffer from gluten intolerance, you can eat oats; you should only make sure that the oatmeal and oat products carry the 'gluten-free' seal. If in doubt, you should definitely consult a doctor, as there are also people who still do not tolerate gluten-free oats.
How do I know that oat products are gluten-free?
Basically, oatmeal contains small amounts of gluten and is therefore not completely gluten-free. If you want to make sure that an oat product is gluten-free, you should use products
that are explicitly labeled as gluten-free
.
You can easily filter our gluten-free breakfast products in our online shop.
From cultivation to finished product – the path of gluten-free oats
So that the oatmeal in our gluten-free porridges and cereals is guaranteed to be gluten-free, the oat plant is produced gluten-free, away from the seeds. This means that gluten-free oats are also grown for products made from gluten-free oats. Many steps are necessary for this, but they pay off. First of all, the seeds are tested for gluten-free grain. In the area selection for the cultivation of the oat, it is ensured that no gluten-containing grain has been grown as a prefruit on the area, and the areas are ploughed.
During vegetation, the field is controlled, and, if necessary, the gluten-containing grain is removed. Gluten-free processing of oat
products is also important.
Therefore, a certain harvesting technique is also used during harvesting: the combine is cleaned very well, and the gluten-free oats are transported separately on a combine tank and also
stored separately.
In addition, the harvested oats are only transported with washed hangers.
The oats are only stored in boxes in order to exclude subsequent mixing by conveying routes. The gluten-free oats are loaded directly from the box with a forklift through a washed shovel onto a washed truck. If drying of the harvested oats is required, the drying system must also be cleaned accordingly.
Some precautions must also be taken with regard to delivery and processing in our production facilities. In addition,
the gluten-free oats
are only processed
on a gluten-free system
.
Before a gluten-free product is produced in our production facilities, elaborate gluten cleaning must be carried out to ensure that the limit value is adhered to. This cleaning will take about 2-3 hours.
What does the "gluten-free" seal mean?
Gluten-free products must have a gluten content below 20ppm . This means that low cross-contamination with gluten-containing cereals is permitted. Before a gluten-free product is produced in our production facilities, elaborate gluten cleaning must be carried out to ensure that the limit value of 20 ppm is adhered to.
After production, a sample is always drawn and tested for gluten. Only if the product is below the gluten limit of 20ppm, the product can also bear the "gluten-free" seal and will be sold.
